


The Emperor of Fops and Dandies

by EstherRomanov



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Boy x boy, M/M, Vermeer, War Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2015-03-18
Packaged: 2018-03-18 11:17:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3567647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EstherRomanov/pseuds/EstherRomanov
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where Liam falls in love with an enemy and learns a lesson or more about war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Emperor of Fops and Dandies

**Author's Note:**

> so I was watching Narnia the other day and this is what I came up with. And obviously I do not know how to write a story with war as the setting.

During his second winter in that unfamiliar village, Liam James Payne falls in love with an enemy. If that is to spread into that village, he knows that people will add that to the list of his faults. But Liam had always been good at hiding his feelings, always has kept this cool façade that he is not affected by their pitying, and sometimes, disgusted looks. He is affected all right. But why would he give them the pleasure of knowing it? 

Liam does not like Michael Clifford that much. Michael is everything Liam knows he will never become. He brightens the day when Liam brings in the gloom. He makes Cher smile when Liam has to remind her the dangers their father is facing in the battlefield. He runs with the wind when Liam needs to be careful with his heart. Most of all, he believes in fairytales and happy endings when Liam has given up all hopes in the world. 

But if there is one thing that he likes about that 13 year old albino boy with unruly hair and unpredictable mind, is that he believes he always, always has to bring Liam and Cher in his adventures. Even on their first day in the countryside, after they were introduced to the old and stern medical professor (and a believer of mysticism) who was given the duty to keep them in time for the war, Michael knocked on their door and asked politely if they would like to play with him. Liam did not want to. He was a tad bit too exhausted, being separated from his mother (along with other children from their own mothers), boarded on a train that took him here in a place he would never call a home, taunted at for being saved from conscription because of a family connection (as if he wanted that. He would brave the war alongside his father if asked); this 18 year old boy is a grown-up. Playtimes are long over. But ten-year-old Cher pulled at his arm and tagged him along. Liam did not have the heart to break his little sister’s heart more by saying no, so he acceded. Cher had enough tears for a day. 

In the meadows, they played until twilight. Evening came they went to their respective homes; Michael inside the village, and Liam and Cher’s outside, by the woods. The professor laid their supper on the dinner table and they ate in an unwanted silence. The professor, who Liam understood has a son currently in the battlefield, offered no conversation and did not look at them. At bedtime, Liam still refused to read Cher her fairytale books. 

Weeks passed and the brother and sister still play with Michael. Truth be told Liam wants to run from them. He wants to read books, know about political matters and worry about the war, because that is what grown-ups do. It is only his love for Cher that makes him stay with the two children. 

One afternoon, Cher takes a leisure walk with the professor in the marketplace, and so Liam is left with Michael. Michael brings him in his house, not the first time, but his parents are not around for the day, he takes him inside the kitchen and makes him wait while he butchers cheese sandwiches for the two of them. Liam looks around uncomfortably. His eyes rest upon the receiving area and then he spots a painting. Curiosity beckons him to get up from his seat and walk over carefully before the spotted artwork, his breath leaving him with every step. 

It is absolutely magnificent. The young man has his delicate fingers on the keys of a grand piano. His eyes are closed, accentuating his long eyelashes, his strong jaw, his tempting lips, as if feeling the music he is playing. Tender moonlight comes from the window and enters the room where he is. He seems to be deeply relaxed. His hair, the color of ravens, waves with the breeze coming from the window, and sweet breeze it could be. The grooves, the color, the style; Liam wants to touch it but thinks it would be a sin to smudge it with his unworthy fingertips. The painting is marvelously beautiful. He is beautiful. 

In that moment, Liam believes he has fallen in love. And how absurd it is, to fall in love with a clutter of colored paints in a canvas.

“Do you like it?” Michael asks behind him that makes Liam jump. He almost forgot about Michael, or everything for that matter. 

“Yes. It’s beautiful,” Liam admits, though embarrassed. 

Michael stands beside him and preens at the painting. 

“Who is he? That boy on the painting?” Liam asks shyly. 

“I have not got any idea who. Father bought it from an auction only last week. He fell deliriously in love with it. He thinks it’s a Vermeer.” 

“Vermeer?”

“Johannes Vermeer. A painter from Delft.” He pauses then continues. "I would add that there are no papers to support that this is indeed of Vermeer’s creation. And Mother says it could not be. She said that she doesn’t think Vermeer paints subjects like this, but Father says it’s about the style , and the details, the effort and the colors that makes it a Vermeer.” 

“Yes. Yes. But who is the boy?” 

“We haven’t got any clue. You seemed terribly interested in him, Liam. May I ask why?” 

Liam flushes. “I… it’s nothing. I am just wondering… what could he be playing that gives him so much peace, is all.” 

“I wonder too…” Michael says. 

With only a second’s hesitation, Liam sits on an easy chair in front of the painting and loses himself again on it.The boy, the piano, the moonlight, why, Liam could be in that world at the same moment.

“What do you call it?” Liam asks, eyes not leaving the pianist. 

“Mother named it ‘The Boy Playing the Piano’. Father insisted on calling it ‘Zayn’.” 

“’Zayn’? Why?” 

“It means beauty and grace.”

Liam gives it a thought. “Zayn seems to be more fitting,” he comments afterwards. 

They did not speak for the next minutes. The cheese sandwiches all but lie forgotten. Liam is lost in the painting, in Zayn. He loses track of time. Suddenly, he wishes for a glass of wine to make the moment more enjoyable. Michael’s father is obsessed with the painter. Liam wants the boy. 

Then Liam feels a hand tap his shoulder. He looks up and sees Michael giving him a silly look. Again, he has forgotten the world’s existence. 

“It’s quarter to seven, Liam. We should prepare to go to the feast.” 

At eight o’ clock that evening, a feast is set in the house of another professor in celebration for the little victories in the war. Everybody is expected to come. 

Liam looks down shamefully to his lap. “I don’t want to go. I don’t do very well with people.” 

“You don’t have to talk to them. You and Cher can just stick with me like usual.” 

“The professor would want me to talk to people my own age. To tell the truth, he thinks it is plain ridiculous that I am playing with you.” 

“But I know you don’t really want to.” Liam looks at him in surprise. “I know you really don’t want to play with us. You are just staying with us for Cher’s benefit.” 

Liam smiles sadly. “It’s silly, isn’t it? How I envy you, a boy with no worries in life. Too young to understand. All the time is in your hands.” 

“You are not making any sense, Liam.” 

Liam shakes his head, ashamed that he brought that up to a mere child. “Maybe someday you will understand me. When you do, you have become a grown-up by then. And I will be terribly sorry for you.” 

Michael walks him to the door after. 

“I will see you at the feast later, all right?” Michael asks. 

Liam nods and chances one last look at Vermeer’s Zayn. 

“You can see him again if you want to,” Michael says. “Maybe tomorrow?”

Liam smiles at that. “You would really allow me? I can come?” 

“Yes. You and Father can enjoy it. I know he will be glad.” 

Whether he was talking about Zayn or his father, Liam does not know. But what matters is that he is permitted to see the painting again. 

Liam leaves with the last of the daylight. Liam would call it a day. He thought he can feign in sick so he would not need to go to the banquet. No one would miss him, surely. Cher will be with Michael and she would be all right. 

He feels guilty when he remembers that Michael is expecting him later. But that guilt is replaced by fear for his own life and for everyone he knows. Because as he is walking home alone in the dark, enemy planes hover above and drop bombs to their place. Liam runs and tightly clutches his chest. He thinks of Cher and the professor, and of Michael who is alone in his house. His eyes catch a shed by the woods safe from the explosions and runs inside. He cowers in a corner in the dark and waits. Every explosion seems to be coming nearer and nearer to him. 

Twenty minutes after (though it could have been hours) the explosions stop and everything turns quiet. Ten minutes more before Liam comes out of his hiding place and readily his eyes witnesses the tragedy. He sees fire and he sees people crying, and running and dying. Everywhere he looks it is painful. He resumes his journey home in a run. 

With his diminishing energy, he finds their house barely untouched by fire thanks to its far distance from the village. He calls out Cher’s name and after a while, she comes stumbling with the professor beneath the staircase. 

“We hid in the basement,” says the professor. 

Liam embraces Cher tightly as the little girl cries. 

“Oh, Liam, I was so scared. When the air raid began, we just came home from the marketplace. Where have you been?” 

Liam answers that he was, too, just going home from Michael’s. The professor instructs Liam after to go to their room while he resigns to his own chamber. The brother and sister walk upstairs and as the pass by the professor’s room, Liam hears him praying, asking the Lord to save his son Calum, to assist him in the war, and make him come home soon. 

Cher sleeps close beside him as she is still very scared. When it is past midnight and the wailings outside still haven’t stop, the professor saunters off the house to help and gather news. Liam follows him but he growls at Liam and tells him to watch over his sister. 

In the morning, by breakfast, the professor has not returned. Liam makes porridge for three in case their caretaker arrives. But the professor does not come until noon with the terrible news that the enemies are closing in to their village and their own forces are busy down south to protect them. 

Liam immediately goes to his room and writes a letter to his mother who is left alone in London. He inquires of her health and prays for her safety. He mails the letter afterwards. 

For that week the villagers spend their time rebuilding. They, who have lost their wives, their husbands, fathers, mothers, children from the previous air raid, need not be told to be strong. In this time of war, they must be able to hold on for themselves while rescue is still out of sight. They must be assiduous with restoring their town while liberation is still unheard of. For that week their lives consisted of reconstructing their homes in the morning and watching out for air raids at night. Liam does whatever he can do to help in carpentry. Though it has been his unspoken responsibility to watch over Cher and Michael, and that is what he’s doing. 

On the last day of that week, the three children are in Michael’s house, sitting in front of Zayn. And though Liam wants to keep his enjoyment with the painting alone, he keeps it to himself and thinks of the children first. 

“I am writing a story,” Cher announces while drinking her orange juice. “I’m calling it _The Emperor of Fops and Dandies_.”

“What is it about?” Liam inquires. 

“A young heritor who travels back in time to stop the war.”

“That’s nice…” Michael says, almost dreamily. “Will there be dragons in there?” 

“No. I don’t like my story to appear childish with dragons and princesses.” 

“Oh, but I never said anything about princesses!” Michael retorts. “And dragons make stories much better.” 

Before the two children got a chance into a heated argument, Liam manages to calm them down. 

“Liam, do you think Mother is all right?” Cher asks after making peace with Michael. 

“Yes.” _I hope so…_ is what might he have added. 

“And Father?”

“Yes. I’ve no doubt he’s safe.” 

“Do you think we can go home to London before Christmas? I want to spend Christmas Eve there with Mother and Father and Grandma and our dog, Cleofe.” 

Liam kisses the top of her head. “I’m sure we will, Cher.” He does not have the heart to tell her otherwise, or even the possibility of it. The enemies are closing in to their village. The battle is getting worse in the South. And there is no news from their father. 

They go home not long after; after a game of poker with Michael and a minute long gaze at Zayn, full of affection and envy that he could be at peace playing his piano while Liam is suffering in the real world. Before they go, Michael asks Cher to consider putting dragons in her story. 

“But dragons are not real,” Cher says. 

“So is time travelling. But they can come true. They both gives you adventure. Fairytales can come true.” 

Cher smiles. “You’re such a darling!” 

The professor, to Liam’s great surprise, embraces them in their return to their house. He seems to be very happy. It is the first time Liam has seen him this happy. 

“Great news, son,” he says, smiling widely. “There is news that a unit will come here the day after tomorrow to defend us. We will be safe.” 

Liam feels glad about that, too. In the evening, the villagers held the banquet they should have held a week prior. Full of merriments and hopes. They will survive and see the end of this war. 

Alas, it is all for nothing. Great misfortune befalls on them. For the very next day a force arrives. But it is of the enemies. 

The soldiers, in their green uniforms, fired warning shots into the air, and kills nine people when they first come. People try to run away, but finds out the whole village surrounded of the soldiers. Villagers are ambushed inside their houses, with an order that their place will be held captive and will serve as a camp for their unit and all of the oncoming troops for their advancing army. As such, soldiers will be allotted to every house; to be served and to be feared. 

The professor never looked so hopeless after the visit of the head officer. Liam just looks outside the window, and knows that he is right for knowing they will all die. He just wishes he can spare Cher, who they hid in the basement, of this tragic fate. 

A young soldier of Liam’s age appears by the door. “I am not alone,” is what his first words are. "My companions will be here in a while. With the size of this house, three of us will be staying here. You,” he points at Liam, “you look like you’re of the right age. Why aren’t you in the army?” 

Before Liam could answer that, the two other soldiers walks in, one limping and left knee bleeding, the other holding him up. 

“Hemmings, help me with Horan, will you?” the one holding the limping soldier snaps. 

And Liam’s world stops from there for a moment as he stares at the speaker. He briefly wonders what is the world made of. The man looks exactly like the one on Michael’s painting. Zayn. The Boy Playing the Piano. His face, his jaw, his nose, his eyes.The painting that come into life.

The lad catches Liam staring at him. “And what are you looking at?” 

The bleeding soldier (Horan) snickers. “You are a pretty boy, Malik. Can’t you see that the young man got smitten on you?” 

Malik expresses a look of disgust on his face as he curses and insults fell from his mouth. Horan laughs while Liam looks down in utter shame and disappointment. Below them, Liam hears Cher crying. 

Hemmings says, “Our brother was wounded during an encounter two days ago. We’ve already cured him but today his wound opened again.” 

The professor sighs loudly and stands up. “Take the boy, Liam, to your room. Clean his wound. Take care of him while I talk to these gentlemen here.” 

Liam nods and takes the boy from Malik, avoiding any eye contact with him. As they slowly ascended the stairs, Horan keeps wincing in pain. Many times his fingers dig deeper on Liam’s shoulder. Cher runs outside the basement and follows them up. 

The patient groans loudly as Liam cleans his wound. The curses falling out from his mouth greatly scares Cher and Liam instructs her to find another room to stay in. 

“I think I’m going to die,” the soldier mutters after Liam bandages him. “Damn. If I only knew what being shot feels like in the first place, I would not have…” but whatever it is he did not continue. 

“You need to rest,” Liam says and starts to pick up the towels and the basin. 

But Horan reaches for his hand and holds rather loosely. “Stay. I need company.” 

Liam, who does not want to be alone with an enemy, gently replies. “I could call for your friends.” 

“Don’t leave me,” orders the patient. “I am scared to be alone.” 

There is still hesitation in his mind as Liam takes his seat again and drops off his things. The soldier lets go of his hand and let it drop to his side. Some moments pass while the two strangers observe each other. 

“What’s yer name?” the soldier asks. 

“Liam James Payne.”

“I am Niall Horan. Luke Hemmings is the one with sandy hair. The one who carried me was Zayn Malik.” 

“Did I hear that right? His name is Zayn?” 

“You seemed so surprise. Yes, his name is Zayn. What is it to you?” 

Liam begins to feel excited but resolves not to show it. What would Michael say if he hears all about these? And, pray, someone has to tell him if the world is actually made out of fantasies. 

“What is it to you if his name is indeed Zayn?” Niall asks again. 

“It is nothing. Just as it is nothing to you knowing my name. Why have we wasted time introducing ourselves? We are going to die anyway.” 

Niall, in Liam’s great annoyance really thinks it over. “You are correct... or maybe I am going to die first and you will live. And ten years from now, you will tell your children how you survived the war and you will tell them about me and so the world will remember about a soldier named Niall Horan.” 

“That was some elaborate thinking,” Liam says and laughs bitterly. “But who do we kid? I don’t believe I can survive this war. I know I can’t. And does anyone know if they will live? Everywhere is chaos and death.” 

Then Niall sports a smile. It is very warm and friendly. “One can hope, Liam James Payne.” 

It is then that Liam decides to bestow a little trust on Niall Horan above everyone else. He reads to him every night some poetries and novels that he has. He sleeps next to him by a chair while Cher sleeps in the professor’s room and Luke and Zayn in the common room. 

For the next few days, life in that village turns into hell. The unwanted visitors abuse everyone and destroy everything. They rape their women, shot the elderly for sports and keep only those who are able. The bodies they burn at the town square. They laugh, and they rule. It is sickening. Never once did Liam let Cher out of the house. The enemies also put barbed wires around the village, roam around at night, and shoot those who dare escape. They vandalize the whole community. Everyday Liam’s hatred for them grows, like the depression of the people in the village grows because of the adversity. When he looks at Niall, or Luke, or Zayn, he cannot help but to think that those three are one of those monsters. 

But the three boys, who not only shares Liam’s age but also the desire to understand the world and understand why is there a need for a war and why do they need to kill or be killed in the name of a leader; they, who has someone waiting for their return, not dead but fully alive; those three turn out to be a kind lot (if you could ever call an enemy kind, that is). Luke and Zayn always help the professor in everyday household chores and assist him for every medical aid he performs to their fellow cadets. Niall is always friendly, lightens up Cher with his stories, and he plays harmonica for the brother and sister every night before Liam reads to him. His physique does not look any better each day but it never dampens his sprite behavior. 

One night, Liam is reading Lord Byron to Niall. Luke has decided to accompany them that night and he is lost sitting by the fireplace. Cher is with them, too, by the foot of the bed dozing off with Liam’s soft voice lulling her. Downstairs, Zayn and the professor are talking to a head officer. Niall makes Liam stop his reading and asks him if he harbors any affections for Zayn. Cher readily wakes up alert and Luke’s focus falls on them. 

“Where did that question come from?” Liam asks nervously. 

“Don’t hide it, Liam. It is obvious,” Niall drawls. 

“So I observed,” Luke seconds.

Liam blushes. Cher exclaims, “Oh, that is so sweet! Liam!” 

“Enough! I do not have any! And besides, he does not seem to like me. He snaps at me often and does appear irritated when I’m in the same room as he is.” 

Even with his denial, Cher smiles wider and Luke, who is always serious, grins. “Come off it,” he says with a teasing note, “you were staring fascinatedly at him when we first came here.” 

“I only recognized him, that is why I was staring.” 

Niall asks if Liam had met Zayn before. 

“No. I recognized him from a painting. A friend has a painting of him done be Vermeer. He looks exactly alike as the one on the picture. Incidentally, the name of the painting is Zayn.” 

“What mystery,” says Niall. “I wish to see the painting. Show me.” 

“You said it is a Vermeer,” Luke interrupts. “How are you sure? Are there papers? Most of his works are unsigned and are sold to pay off his debts. Only a number are attributed to him. Maybe it is a Rembrandt. I know some people who copy the style of Vermeer. To tell, I even have a close friend who imitates the Delft painter.” 

“No. No. Good heavens, no!” Liam reddens. “Why, I do not claim it to be a Vermeer. It is the owners who said so. And I don’t believe it is Zayn now. The Zayn in the painting looks kind and peaceful whilst playing the piano. Unlike this Zayn—” 

Niall laughs loudly. “You are right. It could not be our friend. Zayn does not play piano and for sure he does not know Vermeer. But we are getting off topic. We are talking about your love for Zayn, yes?” 

“That is exaggerating. I do not love him.” 

“Say the truth, Liam,” Niall teases. “A little admittance won’t do you any harm, I promise.” 

“What good will it do? What use will it be? It is terribly wrong to have feelings for him, or even to any of you! You are the enemies! I will never fall in love with an enemy!” Immediately after those words fall out of his mouth, Liam feels bad. Cher’s face fell and Luke’s and Niall’s become stern. The tension and silence that comes after fills Liam with regret. Still, he knows what he had just said is the truth. 

“I’m sorry,” he begins to say when a stone hits their window. All of the occupants turn around questioningly. Another stone hits. Liam rises and goes to the window. He opens it and finds Michael standing atop a branch of tree, with three more stones in his hand, ready to throw another one. The boy looks angry and sad both at the same time. Liam opens the window wide then closes it after Michael jumps inside the room. 

“What happened, Michael?” he asks of the boy. Only Michael is staring hard at the two soldiers with them and very suddenly throws the remaining of his stones on them before Liam can stop him. Two on Niall and one on Luke.

“Little rascal,” Luke seethes and rises from his seat and points his gun at him, who, very soon after his deed, starts bawling in tears. 

“Don’t do it, Luke,” says Niall. Liam runs to Michael and puts his arms around him. 

“What is happening up there?” comes the professor’s voice. They hear them mounting the stairs and very soon Zayn and the professor storms in. Luke lowers his weapon. Michael continues crying in Liam’s arms. “What is Michael doing here?” the old man asks. 

None answers for no one knows. It is after Michael has calmed down a little that the boy answers the question himself. Earlier that evening, after Michael and his father came home from the marketplace, they found Mrs. Clifford in bed, naked and dead. The soldier living with them appeared from the hallway, fixing his trousers. Mr. Clifford screamed like a madman and reached for a knife. But the soldier is faster. He went for his gun and shot him in between his eyes. Michael witnessed it all and, with a great fear for his life, ran away and left his parents behind. 

Luke, Niall and Zayn looks away as Michael recounts his story. Cher cries in horror along with the boy. The professor gathers Michael in his arms and tells him, “You can stay here, my boy.” 

“NO!” the boy yells. “I won’t stay here with these monsters. I won’t. Get rid of them, professor. Make them go away. I hate them!” he struggles out of the professor’s hold but the old man carries him away followed by Cher into the other room. 

Discomfort covers the room when they have left. The three soldiers are unable to meet Liam’s gaze when he scans their faces. Sighing loudly, he sits again on the chair beside Niall’s bed and catches Zayn giving him a measured look. 

“We are sorry, Liam,” Niall mutters. 

Liam shakes his head dismissively and with irritation. “There is nothing your apologies can do,” he says. 

Michael lives with them after. But the Michael Liam and Cher knows is gone, replaced by a vengeful spirit. Evil glares are within his once gleeful eyes, and those glares are always directed at the soldiers with them. Once, Liam heard him mutter, “One day, I will get you, filthy maniacs. I will kill you.” The picture of death has changed him, and Liam could not even blame him. He knows that this is the time to be the most sympathetic. 

Michael has seen Zayn and immediately places him as the one on their painting. There is only a second’s look of fascination on his young face before his grim expression takes over. “You are one of them. I will get you, too.” 

Liam still stays on Niall’s bedside, still helps Luke in cooking, still feels something for Zayn. Liam hates himself for that. It is not right, his mind says. They are the enemies, and you are the victim. But Liam continues on anyway. Michael resents him for it. 

And after all this time, there are no successful attempts of rescue from their army. It only resulted in more deaths on both sides. Soon, the village is blanketed with snow and more troops come to inhabit the place. Hope had disappeared on the villagers. 

Everything changes once again one day when Liam is about to carry up meal for his patient. He is passing by the front door when he sees the postman from afar. He waits for him and receives three letters. One for him, one to the professor and the last addressed to Luke. 

No time wasted, he leaves Niall’s food momentarily by the stairs and goes to the professor who is in the kitchen with Zayn. He goes to him and gives him his letter. He walks to a corner to read his own. A letter from London. Surely it is his mother. He does not notice Zayn staring at him with great interest as he reads the note. It is not from his mother, as he later finds out, but from a neighbor. It reads: 

_Dear Liam,_

_I hope you’re well. Life these days is hard, but I do wish you are braving it all. You are eighteen now, already a man, acting like one. I may have some bad news for you, Liam. And I want you to be stronger than you are now after you read this. Your mother has died during an air raid here three days ago. She stayed in your house that night instead of the shelter. We don’t know her reasons for staying behind but we know she was so happy as she had just received your letter. We are terribly sorry for your loss…_

There are more words. But Liam has stopped reading from there. His world stops. There are no tears that fall from his eyes. Trembling, he looks at the letter again and reads that is dated eight days back. He drops the letter and stares into nothingness. He is vaguely aware of Zayn walking over to him and asking him what the matter is. Then the professor screams and cries in hysteria, his letter crumpled in his hands. Liam is lost in apathy to bother to ask what is wrong and Zayn does not left his side. Luke comes in then to inquire about the scream he heard. 

“My son is dead! Calum is dead! My son! My son!” the professor cries. The sounds he makes are greatly pitying and sad. Luke tries his best to calm him down. 

Meanwhile, Zayn picks up the letter Liam dropped on the floor. He read through it while Liam watches him with no interest. After reading the note, he folds it neatly and puts it on the table. “I’m sorry, Liam,” he whispers. 

Liam only nods and turns to go. Zayn pulls his arm. “Will you be fine? Talk to me.” 

“Don’t touch me,” Liam says. “I won’t be touched by an enemy.” 

Zayn withdraws his hand and says nothing as Liam makes his exit from the kitchen. 

Liam picks up the tray of food he was about to give Niall earlier. For a moment he fancies putting poison in the soup. It would be right, he thinks, it would be good. For his mother, for Calum, for those others who have died in their hands and in the name of the war. But the logical part of his mind – and his conscience – asks him what peace will it give him should he kill Niall? If he gives him death, would that mean that he had become part of the hopeless, those who think that nothing good will ever happen during these times? 

Liam reaches his room, and finds the subject of his thoughts sitting up in bed, looking anxious. 

“I heard screams. What on earth is happening down there?” Niall asks. 

Liam puts the tray down on the bedside table. “The professor had just found out that his son has died. My mother, too, died in an air raid.” He looks at Niall and becomes irritated. “Don’t look shock now. Don’t even look sorry. You have no right! Your country is doing this to us. It is your very goal to destroy us, right? So don’t pretend that you care if we lost our loved ones.” Niall turns red. But Liam is not yet done. He dips a spoon to the soup and turns it to Niall and says, “Eat. Get well now so you can help your troop terminate us.” 

Niall becomes terrified of the anger in front of him. “Liam. Please stop.” 

“Eat, I say!” Liam yells and throws the spoon at Niall. The Devil must have entered him just then because he sees himself grabbing the bowl of soup, ready to pour all of it on Niall. But someone runs to him from behind him and tackles him on the floor. The bowl is thrown far from their side. 

Liam looks up at the man above him with contempt. “Let me go, Zayn!” 

“No. You are going to hurt my friend.” 

“Let me go!” Liam shrieks. He doesn’t intend to, but when he screams, tears come out of his eyes. He cries. “Let go of me,” he says weakly. “My mother’s gone, Zayn. She’s gone.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“What shall I do? She’s gone…” Liam covers his eyes with his hands and cries loudly like a boy, not like of man he must become. 

Zayn embraces him tight until his tears subside while Niall looks at them sadly. 

“How shall I ever tell Cher?” Liam whimpers against Zayn’s shoulders. 

The boy does not answer, only hugs him tighter. Liam does not notice it when he falls asleep. When he comes to, he's on the couch in the room. The window outside tells him that it is evening. He sits up, and sees Niall asleep. Zayn sits on a chair opposite from him, watching him. 

"How are you?" the soldier asks softly. 

"Not fine," Liam answers. 

"I am so sorry about what happened to your mother. I really am." 

Liam smiles but it is without humor. "Funny... to get pity from an enemy. I don't need it." 

Zayn walks over carefully to him. "Mercy is all you'll ever need from an enemy. I think you have forgotten that it is your government that declared the war against us. You strike us first; our province, our village. Your forces had killed my whole family. You destroyed my once perfect life. You left me alone. There are no words to describe how much I hated all of you. I am one of the few survivors that night. I joined the army. Now we are advancing and winning the war. Then we came in here and I met you and you treat us like we are the only evils. We, both of us, all of us, are monsters, Liam James Payne." 

Liam is unable to look at him the whole time. He is ashamed and still angry. But he is also confused. He does not know what right or wrong is anymore. His mother's death is not right. What happened to Zayn is not right. Nothing is ever right. 

Zayn is looking down at him, as if wanting to read his thoughts. 

"I'm sorry," Liam mutters, still not looking at the soldier. 

"Don't be. I don't need it," Zayn says and touches Liam's face briefly before walking out of the room. Liam watches him leave with a heavy heart then he weeps silently, not wanting to awake Niall. 

Three days before Christmas and Liam has not told Cher of their mother’s fate. It is to protect Cher, he reasons. His little sister has been so depressed lately, so fearful and anxious. And Michael becomes stubborn and reckless and hateful. He does not cheer Cher up like he used to before and he always distances himself from them. He is but a dark shadow of his former self, living with them. 

Liam keeps rehashing Zayn’s speech in his head and mulls it over for hours. He just could not make up his mind. Lately, he notices Zayn always staring at him with, dare he say it, longing. The soldier does not snap at him now, only moves closer to him when he’s in the same room. Liam just runs away, for he is just too confused. 

But the professor, who is old and whose beloved son died, shows to be the strongest and most forgiving of them all. Liam and Michael wonders about that about him. The professor looks at all of them (enemy or not) with equality. Instead of hatred there is justice. Nothing could ever change his ways. He had consecrated himself to help those who are injured, those who needs his help. They don’t know if it’s a good thing or not. 

But three days before Christmas, when Liam is reading Shakespeare to Niall while Cher is asleep on the couch, he hears footsteps below, suggesting the arrival of Luke and Zayn from a meeting. Niall starts laughing by then, stirring Cher awake and puzzling Liam. 

“What is there to laugh at, Niall?” he asks. 

“I know a secret,” Niall answers. 

“A secret?” “What is it?” Liam and Cher questions.

“Come here, I will tell you,” he motions Liam close to him and Liam obeys. “Come closer.” 

“What’s your secret?” Liam whispers, seeing only Niall’s eyes as he speaks, for they are that close. 

Niall holds his head steady and presses his lips to his. Liam tries to break free but the other boy holds him in place. The door opens and Luke and Zayn steps in and witnesses the scene. 

“Are we missing something?” Luke asks. 

Liam finally manages to make a step back and becomes thunderstruck to see them by the door, gaping at them. Liam is lost. Niall is laughing again. Cher and Luke cracks a smile. Zayn is unpleased and walks out. 

“What?” Liam asks. “What just happened?” 

“Oh, dear. You are a simpleton,” Niall laughs. “Zayn has taken a fancy on you, didn’t you know?” 

“Then why did you have to kiss me for it?” 

“Take it easy, Liam. You know evidence is everything. If I just told you, you would not believe me. But I kissed you and Zayn saw us. Now he is jealous. I’ve made my point.” 

“It looks like this will take longer than anticipated,” Luke says. “Liam, just run after the poor lad. I will be the one to help the professor prepare dinner. Cher, come along and help me with your albino friend. He’s sulking yet again by the fireplace.” 

Liam hesitantly leaves the room and searches for Zayn. He finds him by the front porch, out in the snow looking at the village lights in the distance, unmindful of the freezing cold. 

“Zayn, it’s cold out here. Why don’t we step inside?” Liam invites politely. 

“Do you have feelings for Niall?” Zayn asks him, walking towards him and cornering him by the door. 

“Nothing. He just kissed me because… he thinks you fancy me,” Liam says slowly, looking down on his feet because he could not take looking up at the boy towering over him. Then he hurriedly adds, “But I do not believe him. Don’t worry.” 

“Well, you should believe him,” Zayn then tilts Liam’s chin up with his thumb and finger. He stares into his eyes. “Have you kissed anyone before other than Niall?” 

“No,” Liam replies shakily. “Niall is my first kiss, I’m afraid. But it is not on purpose.” Liam is interrupted by Zayn’s thumb rubbing against his lips as if trying to wipe off Niall’s kiss from it. Liam whimpers in slight pain. Then Zayn closes the gap between them and kisses him. Liam is shocked at first then later finds it sweet and loving and very soon he reciprocates the action. Zayn pulls him close by the waist and Liam clutches him in his sleeves as they go on. Then Liam is running out of breath and he pulls back from the kiss regretfully, flushing as he does so. He is feeling hot. Zayn chuckles low as he watches him; and they could have stayed longer in each other’s arms if not for the freezing cold. 

They go inside into the common room and finds Cher and Luke waiting for them. 

“Have you been listening to our conversation? Have you been watching us?” Liam scowls. 

“Why, of course not,” Cher says, but her smile betrays her claim. “It is wrong to eavesdrop, as Mother taught us. But do tell, Liam. I want to hear if what you have with Zayn is love.” 

Liam blushes while Zayn laughs softly and holds his hand. “Whatever for, Cher?”

“Oh, I just want to prove that there is love borne in war. That nothing is ever lost, and hate never lasts. Just like in my fairytale books. And I am very pleased that you, my own brother, is a proof for all of it.” 

Liam just wants to hug his little sister just then. He is moved buy her unwavering hope and continuous view on love. 

“So tell, Liam,” Cher says, “if you are in love?” 

Zayn answers, “We will just have to wait and see for that.” 

Cher beams. “Luke is also telling me about his special friend and how the two of them exchange love letters even to this day. That is so sweet, isn’t it, Liam?” 

“Yes. Yes, it is,” Liam agrees, thankful that the topic shifted from him to others. “Where is Michael, though? Why isn’t he with you?” 

This time, Luke answers. “The professor is reprimanding him right now in his room. He doesn’t like the way Michael is behaving as of late.” 

The sermons and the beatings are carried out by the professor for the next two days until Christmas eve. The old man tells Michael to treat the soldiers as would be his guests. The boy answers back and asks him if he is out of his wits and no way in hell can they make him do that. The professor has to remind Michael that if other soldiers see him defying their captors and their rules, they will slay not only him but everyone residing in the house. Life resumes from there. 

On Christmas eve, Liam, Luke and Zayn are all in Niall’s room while the professor made the two children help him cook a simple Christmas dinner. Niall plays the harmonica for the three lads. Outside, everything is so quiet and still. Liam swears that that is the first time he feels safe in forever, as it is Christmas eve. So he, along with the other two, takes the opportunity to ease and revel in the music. 

When Niall finishes his nativity piece, he looks down to his limbs. “I won’t be able to walk again, I am sure of that. Maybe I will be able to go home now.” 

Zayn gives him an apologetic look. “I’m afraid not, Niall. Another state has joined the war and are rapidly advancing. It is a nation allied with another tyrant government. Now, without our unit moving forward and without a backup, we are going to be caught in between. The communist’s base is up ahead and they are progressing on the other side. There would be no one to help you—” 

“Stupid, power-hungry fools! When will this war ever end?” Niall says in frustration. “I want to go home and I want to see my fiancée and I want to be free!” 

“We all want to be free,” Liam says quietly. “Who would want to be trapped in a battlefield?” 

Zayn holds his hand. “Rhetorical. No one,” he answers. “But we also have no choice. We have not the power those in high positions have to decide whether to kill, or live, or be human.” 

“Take my mind off things,” says Niall after a moment of silence. “Bloody hell, it’s Christmas. Let’s talk about other things just this once. Luke, you never mentioned anything about yourself back at the camp. Tell us. What were you before all these?” 

“I am a university student,” replies Luke, looking at all of them. “A major in physics. But I had offended an officer. I defended Democracy in front of the crowd. That’s why I am here.” 

“Somebody waiting for you?” 

“Yes. Ashton Irwin.” 

Liam asks him who Ashton is. 

“A close friend of mine.A special one. He’s also a student. Older than me by two years. Last year, on a Christmas party, he led me under a mistletoe and kissed me and that’s all I’m going to tell you.” 

“Oh, come on! You’re being unfair!” Niall yells. 

“Enough of me. What about you, Niall?” Luke asks. 

“I was nothing special. Only a son of a furniture store owner who enlisted in the army to save my old man. Before that, I was selling newspapers to earn money for college. There was this pretty neighbor who is bound to marry me. An ingénue, I’m afraid. Name is Genevieve. But I don’t think she really likes me. I’ve seen her staring at my older brother more than once. Anyway, I’m also here to prove my worth to her. Though I like to go home and see that my brother and fiancée have not betrayed me. Oh, I also have a massive interest in astrophotography. That’s all there is to my life. You, Zayn?”

“I don’t want to talk about my past and furthermore, you already know why I enlisted.” 

“Be that way, then. Liam?” 

“There is nothing,” Liam says but Niall and the rest urges him to go on. “Well, I was also a university student. Medicine. My father is a soldier. But that time we are losing the war and the army needs more men so they started enlisting students. Mother doesn’t want me to go. She’s too afraid of losing me given my weak heart condition. Thus, Mother counted on a family friend to get me here with my sister, supposedly away from the war. Some say I’m lucky, others say that I’m a coward. They don’t see that I want to fight, much like you three are fighting for your country.” 

“But Liam,” says Luke. “You have to understand that we are not all about saving our country. We have other reasons, too.” 

“And if you got enlisted, we wouldn’t have met you,” Niall adds. “We wouldn’t be friends; we wouldn’t be able to understand one another.” 

Liam looks at all their faces and sees sincerity in there. He wonders if he becomes a soldier and sees those same set of people, wouldn’t he hesitate to shoot them all one by one? 

After a while, Cher, Michael and the professor comes in with food for everyone. Only vichyssoise, few pieces of bread and a slice of roasted beef. There has been a shortage of food in the village. (Not too long ago, it boasts itself of profusion of food, but now it is gone.) All the same, they all sit in a circle, bless the food and greet each other a Merry Christmas. Liam looks at Cher being playful at Michael, friends again. He knows she could have been happier if they were back in their hometown with their family but in that moment, Liam is contented. 

They all sleep in that room after the supper. Cher and Michael sleeps under Liam’s shoulders at the foot of Niall’s bed where the boy snores softly. The professor takes the couch and Luke and Zayn on the floor. Liam has not fallen asleep, watching the flames ablaze in the hearth. Then he looks around and sees Zayn also not sleep, observing him. They rise and go down to the common room and watch the snow fall outside. Zayn tells him about the new enemy joining the war. 

“Have they come to save us?” Liam asks hopefully and regretfully. 

“Not possibly,” Zayn answers, not meeting his gaze. “It is said that they have their own interests and wants to take down both of our nations at once. From what I heard, they are very aggressive in getting their way.” When Liam is not saying anything, Zayn speaks again. “I can help you escape, Liam. You and your family. I know where the nearest base of your army is and I know an opening out of this village, inside the woods, where we usually do our game. You will be free.” 

“Would you do that? Why?” 

“I want you to live. You can’t stay here any longer. Like what I said earlier, the allied force is advancing real fast. Your own army is making advances as well towards us. Soon this village will be caught in between, and there is no news of backup from our base. And Liam, we won’t go down without a fight. Many lives will be lost.” 

“And what will happen to you?” Liam asks in agitation, for he loves Zayn and it pains him to think of being separated from the boy though it is for the greater good. 

“You know I need to stay here, my love. I will make arrangements as soon as possible for you. We’ll round up for more villagers that will escape with you. I will tell Luke to help us. And please let Niall come with you. Tell them, if you get there, that he’s one with you—” 

“Stop. Why does it feel like you’re saying goodbye?” 

“Liam, you must listen. This is for the best. Think that I’m doing this for you. All for you. Remember me when you get through this, and when the war is long over, and when you found peace. I will live, Liam, and I will come to you,” Zayn says, smiling now. “I love you, Liam.” 

“And I love you,” Liam replies. 

“Well, look at what we got into. Is not wrong to have fallen in love with an enemy? I’ve been told that this is a shame.” 

“Hush, don’t tease,” Liam snaps. “Whoever said that this is wrong? And if it is, it is a mistake I will not regret ever. You tamed me, Zayn. You tamed my heart.” 

Zayn intertwines his hands with Liam’s and rests his head against his. 

“We are not adversaries, Zayn. I see it now.” 

“I know. I know. Rest now, Liam. You need to sleep.” 

“Not until you kiss me first.” 

Zayn laughs easily but does as he is requested. He kisses Liam lightly on the cheeks and fiercely on the lips. They lie on the couch, bodies tangled to give each other warmth and with the knowledge that this indeed is love. 

In Christmas morning, they wake up with the dying of the fire and noises of a heated conversation. They get up and into the kitchen where they find Cher and Michael engage in a debate. The two children had walked into Zayn and Liam sleeping together. Cher is happy but Michael does not like what he saw. 

“Liam should be ashamed of himself,” he exclaims. “He does not think of all our people who died in Zayn’s hands. He is blind and an idiot. He should hate Zayn and treat him as a monster.” 

“Oh, don’t you dare say that again! I hate you!” Cher cries. 

“It’s true! It’s true! Both of them think only of themselves. And do you think this is time for romance? This is war! Love and softness is unacceptable in times like this!” 

“You’re wrong! We should learn to love one another to stop the war.” 

“You are so childish. Grow up, Cher.” 

“ENOUGH!”Zayn thunders that silences the two children. Cher runs to them, crying. Michael stays where he stands and stares at them with hatred. 

“Michael, please apologize to Cher,” Liam says. 

“Why? What I said is the truth. You’re blind. Do you think what you’re doing is right? You’re a disgrace. And furthermore, there is no future for you and Zayn. Nothing good will come out of your affair. You’re like a bird and fish falling in love. No hope!” 

“What happened to you, Michael?” Liam pleads. “You’re not like that.” 

“My parents were killed.” He points at Zayn. “By them!”

“Michael, stop it,” Cher says. “You’re making me upset.” 

Luke and the professor are standing by the doorway now, witnessing the whole scene. Michael runs away, out of the door, the house, into the snowy village. Luke, Zayn and Liam follow him immediately but then he has gotten out of sight. They spread out in search for the boy but they found no such luck. Liam visits Michael’s house, the meadows, the marketplace but he could not see the boy. After a three-hours search, he goes home empty-handed with the professor waiting solemnly by the fireplace. Cher is keeping Niall company upstairs. 

“I could not find him,” Liam says to the professor. “I’m sorry. This is my entire fault.” 

The professor pats his shoulder and says, “Don’t worry, my boy. We will find him. And let’s hope that he might forgive us, for we are hard on him. However I also hope he returns with a better understanding of the situation.” 

Zayn comes in with the same fruitless search. “I will ask others to help us find him. I doubt they will show concern but it is worth trying. Stay here, Liam. I will handle this.” He turns to the door when suddenly Luke enters the room with a different report. He has just gone to the headquarters for help when a scout they dispatched three days ago returns and gives an information that he saw the allied force setting up a base ten miles north. The scout calculates that they will attack the village the day after tomorrow. Luke, Zayn and all the others are requested for a meeting in the headquarters. 

Before the two leave, Zayn tells the professor of the escape plan which they should carry out in the morrow morning and once Michael is found. The professor did not need propounding Zayn’s proposal. He agrees to it, including taking Niall with them. Zayn and Luke leaves with an assurance that they will talk more of the plan after the meeting and a promise that when they come home, Michael will be with them. 

Liam and the professor waits in the common room. Once or twice the old man brings up food for the bedridden and the little girl. Then, it is night, and Luke and Zayn, or Michael, has not returned home. Liam tries to be calm. He worries for Michael, yes, but aside from that, he cannot help but to feel that the boy’s disappearance is nothing but an ominous presage; a very terrible event. It is still outside, and the silence is deafening and uncomfortable. Suddenly, loud knocks come on the door. Liam excitedly answers it to find a gun pointed at him. 

“Do not scream. Do not close the door. Let us in,” says the young man with the gun. He is not alone. Another bloke, a taller one, leans heavily on his shoulders. Liam could see that the tall one is bleeding from the waist down and experiencing so much pain. 

Liam is struck with horror. They wear uniforms he is sure he has seen before. They are of the allied forces. 

The professor walks over beside Liam. “Let them in, son. They need our help.” 

Liam could not believe what the professor is telling him to do but he obeys. With much difficulty, they help the soldiers into the basement. While the professor gets his medical tools, Liam lays a blanket on the floor for the wounded one to lie on. The other young man holds his comrade’s hand and strokes his hair. There is affection there, Liam observes, and great concern. 

The professor returns with his supplies. He asks the shorter lad what happened. 

“Harry has been shot,” he answers with tears in his eyes. “There was an encounter this morning. We got separated from our unit and Harry… I could not take the bullet out. Please save him,” he pleads. “He took the bullet for me.” 

The operation lasted for two hours. It is done when the bullet has been taken out and the wound sewn close. The professor assures that Harry is now safe from harm. As he is bandaging him, he tells them not to wander off the basement as there are soldiers living in the house. 

The professor then leaves followed by Liam. 

“Professor, why did you save his life?” Liam asks with an air of annoyance. “And why will we help them? Hide them? They are enemies.” 

“So are Zayn, Niall and Luke.” 

“That’s different. They are helping us escape. They are our friends. Wherein those two—” 

“Those two are nothing more than guests, Liam, in need of help.” 

“I should tell Zayn.” 

“I trust that you won’t tell anyone. The wounded one needs recovery.” 

“You’re mad!” Liam tells him. “I don’t follow your reasoning.” 

The old professor sighs. “You will, Liam. You will. You are still young and you will understand. And besides, it’s Christmas.” He pauses. “Now, why don’t you run to the kitchen and get our guests something to eat. I believe we have some spare loaf bread. Show them hospitability. Keep them company and I will wait for our two soldiers myself.” 

Liam obeys half-heartedly. When he returns to the basement with a loaf of bread, he sees the two of them fully awake, talking in low voices. 

“You should let your companion rest,” says Liam as he passes them the food. 

“That is what I’m telling him,” the short lad says. He is smiling now, relieved. 

“But Louis, this might be our only chance to talk of something else and about us. I’ve grown tired of all these talks about war.” 

“We can talk of all things, Harry, anything under the sun, when the war is over.” 

“And when will it ever be?” 

“No one knows. We have to see it ourselves. We must survive this and live to find out. So please, do take a rest.” 

Harry finally agrees and succumbs to sleep. Liam rests his back against the wall and stares at Louis. “You two seemed awfully close.” 

Louis only nods warily. “Yes, we are.” 

“Best friends?”

“No. Actually, we’re more than that… more like lovers.”

“Oh, how nice,” Liam says truthfully and thinks _What are the odds._

“Yes, it is. It is Harry’s idea to join me in the army despite of my insistence to say no,” Louis says, the words flowing easily now. “He says so that whatever may happen, we will be together in death as in life, in search for survival as in triumph. We won’t separate.” 

“Harry is a romantic.” 

Louis laughs in agreement. “Oh, yes. Do you know he wants us to get married in Notre Dame?” 

“That is nice,” Liam says. “I hope you will.” 

Then Louis turns serious. “Damn this war. If it is not for this, we would have married a long time ago.” He looks at Liam. “Thank you for saving his life. Honestly, I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s gone. I will forever be grateful to you.” 

“Do not thank me, but the professor,” Liam politely replies. 

“My name’s Louis Tomlinson. He is Harry Styles. What is your name?” 

“Liam Payne.”

Louis nods and for a moment, there is silence in the room. Liam asks, “How did you get pass all the guards?” 

“We entered from the back, in the woods, where there is no security. We found an opening there.” 

Liam thinks it must be the opening for escape Zayn talks about. If these two know about it, surely they will use it for their advantage. He must tell Zayn and Luke. 

“How long have that army staying here?” Louis asks. 

“About two months,” Liam answers, surprised of how long even to himself. 

“No rescue all that time?”

“There were attempts but it only resulted to more deaths,” says Liam. 

“And what about the soldiers that live here?”

“They have become my friends. They will help us escape. The plan is they will sneak us out the night before you reach this village which is the day after tomorrow.” 

Louis becomes worried then. “My friend, you got it all wrong. They miscalculated. We are ready to attack by sunrise tomorrow.” 

Liam stands up. “My God,” he mutters. 

“If you want to escape, you better do it now. Your base is fifteen miles straight from here from the back. Go ahead. You will find them there.” 

“Zayn… I’ve got to tell Zayn,” Liam panics. 

“Who is Zayn?” 

“My friend. I need to find him. I’m sorry.” Liam runs outside into the common room. The professor rises in confusion upon seeing him. Just as Liam is about to open the door, Zayn and Luke comes in. Liam crushes into Zayn’s arms. 

“Liam?”

“Zayn, listen. They – the enemies – will attack tomorrow at sunrise. You calculated it wrong. They will take you by surprise,” Liam pants. 

Zayn steadies him by the shoulders. “Liam, will you please calm down? How do you know about that? Who told you?” 

Liam looks first at the professor who gives him a forbidding look. 

“Will you please tell us what is going on?” Zayn asks. “Are you hiding something? How do you know they will arrive by sunrise?” 

Liam looks down. The professor speaks, “Two of them have been separated from their unit. One of them is shot and they needed our help. They are in the basement.” 

Zayn and Luke exchange glances before they ready their guns and heads to the aforementioned place. Liam tries to stop them and reasons with them but Zayn pushes him out of the way. They enter the basement with Liam behind them and aim their weapons at the enemies. Louis covers Harry immediately while his lover stirs awake and takes in the surroundings. 

“Please, stop it!” Liam cries. “I beg of you, don’t hurt them!” 

“Why not?”Zayn seethes, not taking his eyes off the two. “They are not here to save you, Liam. Why are you protecting them? Did they give you a bargain?” 

“No. Harry’s wounded and Louis is –” 

“You’ve already known their names. Getting friendly with them, are we?” Luke says with a smirk. 

“What’s wrong with that?” Liam asks. 

Zayn turns around and glares at him. “‘What’s wrong with that?’ Did I hear that right? You are asking me that question? They are enemies, Liam!” 

“You were our enemies before,” Liam mutters low. “But I read to Niall every night, and I help Luke in household chores, and I fell in love with you, Zayn.” 

The other boy’s gaze softens. He looks terribly embarrassed and surprised by Liam’s words. 

“You don’t understand, Liam,” Luke says. “One way or another, we have to kill them. If not here, outside in the battlefield.If not now, later when their groups attacks. That is how it should be. Mere words can’t fix it all.” 

Zayn tucks his gun and looks away. “Let them be for a while, Luke. We should report what we found out at the quarters. We better go. It’s three hours before sunrise.” 

Luke grunts in disapproval but he keeps his gun and goes. Zayn tells Liam to prepare for escape as they follow the boy. Liam thinks that all is finally over, finally ended. But it is only the interlude of the play. Cher appears at the end of the stairs, crying, and in her hands, a paper. 

“I was looking over your things,” Cher hiccups, “to find something to read to Niall. Then I saw this.” She waves the letter in the air and Liam recognizes it and he is frozen to the ground. “I have read it. Oh, Liam. It says Mother is dead! She’s dead for two months now. Why didn’t you tell me?” 

The professor shakes his head at Liam. 

“Cher, I will explain it to you later. For now we need to get out of here. There’s an enemy coming.” 

“No more! How dare you keep the truth away from me! She’s my mother, too. I hate you!” And before anyone could stop her, let alone block her way, Cher runs out the door. Liam groans and chases her, hating how the world works when time is running out. 

Liam is crying as he searches in the quiet streets, where the remaining villagers sleep peacefully, unknowing the tragedy that will befall on them when they wake up. He shouts her name, not wanting to think of what will happen to him if she, too, will be gone from his life. He does not want to be alone. 

He doesn’t know how long he’s been searching, doesn’t know where he ends up, until he sees the first beam of sunlight. He hears an explosion. He sees tanks coming from a distance, then another, and another. Then a battle cry, then the alarm ringing, people crying. Liam sees them dying and again he sees fire and death. Against the thick blanket of white snow covering their village, Liam sees red. 

Then Liam catches sight of his little sister running from the meadows to him. She’s screaming in terrible fear. Oh, his poor sister. Liam opens his arms wide for her, ready to take her, protect her. There is a gunshot (there are hundreds of gunshots but this one is the most remarkable as Liam can hear it, hear the bullet blasting in and out of her skull). Cher drops dead. 

Liam stops. The world pauses but only briefly. In that brief moment, he thinks, what has he done to deserve this? That his punishment is to witness this immane human nature, to witness not just the death of everybody but also his sister. He feels a shot in his chest. Another explosion. A stronger one where a bomb is thrown near him and he is thrown into the air.

He is lost when he lands. Ashes fall like snow, gunshots sound like fireworks, blood run like river. He forces himself up, and recognizing the Clifford’s house, runs inside it. 

Michael stands at the very center of the room, before a soldier’s body; the soldier who murdered his parents. Michael, bloody and trembling, has a penknife in his hand, and the man’s throat is ripped open. 

The boy notices Liam and he starts to cry. Liam embraces him. “I’ve killed him, Liam. I’ve killed him. I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.” 

Liam makes him drop the knife and calmly tells him, “Shhh… it’s all right. It’s all right.” 

“Liam, you’re bleeding! You need help.” 

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it,” he says. He grabs the boy and runs again outside. In his mind, he needs to save Michael. They pass by the professor’s house; the house that Liam is proud to say has become his home. Liam imagines the professor saving Niall (the soldier who has been like a son to him) on time. He wants to believe that they have escaped and are on their way to safety. Liam and Michael reach inside the woods and find the opening. Liam pushes Michael outside the barbed wires and as an added thought, takes off his coat and gives it to the boy. 

“Run straight ahead, Michael,” he instructs. “Our military are fifteen miles ahead. It is far but I know you will make it. Run now… and do not look back.” 

“What about you? Liam, come with me!” 

Liam gestures towards his shot and shakes his head feebly. “No. I’m too weak now. I’m afraid I will not last longer. I will only slow you down. So go. Run.” 

“Please, Liam. Please. I do not want to go alone!” 

Again, Liam shakes his head which makes Michael cry louder. “Oh. If only I could go back in time to stop this war from ever happening. I am so terrified. Liam, what will happen to you?” 

Liam holds Michael’s face in his hands and smiles at him. “Just don’t forget us, Michael. Never fail to remember us who have been destroyed by this war. Remember that hate is never a good thing. Now, run, Michael. Go have your adventure. Take this chance. Go defeat the dragon, find your princess, appreciate life, be a boy again. Just like in books. You are free now. I wish you peace.” 

Liam watches Michael run off, not looking back, as he told him to. When he is out of sight, Liam stands up wearily and decides a destination he wants to die in. Clutching his wound, he walks ever so calmly amidst the battleground. He stumbles and falls a couple of times but he rises and continues his journey. More bullets graze his body but he carries on. He wants to shout to the world, “See? I told you I can fight in the battlefield with my father… if you just gave me a chance.” 

He reaches Michael's house and searches for the Vermeer painting. Instead, he finds two Zayns: one still playing the piano, the other in a terrible condition while leaning against a house post, dying. Liam drops on the ground beside Zayn, his beloved, and rests his head on his shoulders and puts his arms around his waist. Zayn blinks his eyes open against the touch and smiles lazily down at him. 

"How did you end up here?" Liam asks. 

"I don't know. Something just happened... I had a precognition. Something whispered to me... that I will find you here." 

"Sometimes, I wonder if the world is made up of fantasies and mysteries. Everything is ambiguous at first, but as time passes, it serves its purpose," Liam says. 

"Then, this is the painting you claim you recognized me from." 

"Yes. I thought I might enjoy it one last time... before I die. Do you know this artwork?" 

"I might. I remember meeting an art student some few years ago before the war." 

The lovers huddles closer to each other. Liam begins to weep. "I can feel the end of me, Zayn." 

"Don't cry. I am here with you." 

"Cher's dead." 

Zayn smiles bitterly. "We will see her again soon." 

Liam closes his eyes and feels himself drifting... drifting off to some higher place. Is this what death feels like? he wonders. Then it is not so bad. He decides he does not need the painting to have peace. The company of someone he loves is more than enough. 

"Thank you. And I love you," he whispers to Zayn. 

"I love you, too," the soldier sighs. 

On his second winter in that village, Liam Payne comes face to face with death. He thinks it is not that bad. Life had been cruel to him, he knows, where he always brings in the gloom and he can't run with the wind. But this time, at least, he will not die alone. Some endings are worth to be called a happy ever after. 

Soon the Clifford house will burn, along with other buildings. No mark will ever remain. No sign of existence. But Zayn and Liam are not there anymore. They are off to some peaceful place where there are no more tears, no worries, no pain, where they will not feel alone. For the two of them, it is enough. 

~~~ 

All is calm again by sunset. The soldiers in black rest around the village as they give themselves congratulations for a job well done. They set up their flag to leave as mark. Another triumphant attack. Soon they will declare victory in this war. 

Louis and Harry emerge from the ruins of a house. The two young men look around the destruction around them. And although they know they should be glad that they won again, there is sadness upon their hearts. 

They walk around the decrepit village and stumble upon a body they remember as one of the soldiers who pointed their guns at them back in the basement, _Shame, we do not even know his name,_ Louis thinks. He notices a folded paper in the dead soldier's jacket. He takes it out and with the low fire in the vicinity, he and Harry read the missive. 

_Dear Ashton,_

_I am sorry to hear about your father's disease and also for my brother's disastrous entrance exam in the university. If only I am there. Send them my sympathy and prayers for their recovery, both physically and emotionally._

_The situation here is not getting any better. If I know, they had sent us on a suicide mission. Crimped in the first place we are. Why, they did not send backups. But do not worry; I know this will be over soon. I will go home. I will see you. We will be together._

_I will confess that I am scared, though. Terribly scared for my life, for my whole being. Every night, before I go to sleep, I think of my home. I think of what should I be doing if I am not here. I think of my family, I think of the university, and I think of you. I think of the readings, the Thursdays in the pubs, my violin, our truant friends, mischief adventures, continental breakfasts, your poorly Vermeer-styled paintings (don't get me wrong. I love your paintings all the same), cutting classes, our stolen kisses, the freedom I had. I do not want where I am now. I do not want to be so far away from home._

_Maybe I am just a coward. I am not fit to be a soldier._

_Life, especially during the war, is painfully hard. Death is both a friend and an enemy waiting for you any time of the day. But I will not die. I will not give up. I will never regret that I defended what I think is right to that officer. I know you will defer (especially that you hate me being called a subversive, which, I am afraid I might be. A subversive and a democrat). But I also know you understand._

_If you must know, if there is one thing I am thankful for being here, is that I have seen the other side. I will still gun them down because they are still enemies but now I know that they do not want to be. Look at me. Someone who now worries about socio-political drama. I have been a fool before. Life is not all about physics and numbers. It is about responsibility, also, for your actions and standing firm on your ground and learning your lessons._

_I have already told you about the family who keeps us here in this communist village in my past letters. The professor that reminds me so much of my father: stern and faithful to his God. Liam, who does not even know how to appraise himself and keeps to himself most of the time. And Cher, who reminds me of innocence and a simple truth that war is never a place for children._

_And remember Zayn who you said you painted a few years back? He and Liam have fallen in love with each other. Impossible you might say. But it happened and it is beautiful. The way they look at each other reminds me of us. Though their love is not to be permitted (like us) because they are of opposing nations, and we, disgraced our family simply because we are both men. That is the reason my ever unerring father did not appeal of my conscription. "To make a man" out of me and get me religion. Ridiculous, I will say. Little does he know that this changes nothing between us, only the distance._

_I like to believe that someday you and I could be free; free from this world that teaches us that it's better to hate everyone than to love someone. We can hope, Ashton, and we can love. Know that I Love you. Forever I will. I will come home soon. Wait for me. Yours,_

_Luke_

Louis and Harry wipes their tears away after reading the letter. They contemplated the moment, then cries in each other’s shoulders, thinking of their own fate; hundreds of possibilities and bleakness of reality sinking in. 

In the morrow, they make arrangements to send Luke’s body home. They give his letter to the postman with a short note of Luke’s demise. When the postman has left, their sub lieutenant approaches them and tells them to prepare for another attack to a base fifteen miles south. 

Louis and Harry looks at each other sadly before nodding. 

END 


End file.
